Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How do you tell the sex of Egyptian tortoise? I know you're supposed to go by tail size. I recently bought one that's about 1 year old and 2 inches big. How old does it have to be before you can tell the sex for sure?

You really can only tell by these 5 areas:

Tail Size- Short and stubby is a female, long and tucked under the shell would be a male. I have some that are 4 or 5 years old and it is still hard to tell. I have two that are around 80 grams and I can make a pretty good guess at this point which one is male and female based on their tails.

A display of a penis- A sure indicator for a male, they often do this after a soaking or after eating, urinating or defecating.

Concave "belly" -This occurs from my experience only after the tortoises reach 100 grams or more.

Blood Test-If you have a good reptile vet, sometimes they can tell from a blood test and the amount of Estrogen that is present.

Breeding behavior- Males will mount males in the heat of the moment, but in general a male will ram and mount a female. A female laying eggs of course would also be a sure indicator.

Hope this helps!

Thanks so much. Your response was very helpful and informative. Have a nice day!

Other ways, a females anal scutes will have a rounded aperture where the tail comes out. The males carapace will appear more square across the top and the females more rounded. Tail length is quite obvious when they are around 3-3.5 inches. The males have a very thick and longer tail. I've read that even in the wild males make up 70 % of the population and from personal experience and talking with other breeders that appears to be the case in captive breeding.